Public debate about the justification (or lack thereof) for American and coalition forces
invading Iraq has led to a secondary, but equally important, ethical debate over the
justification (or lack thereof) for people publicly protesting that invasion. Is it
unethical and unpatriotic to protest a conflict when American troops are fighting and
dying? Is it unethical and unpatriotic to use patriotism as a means to silence protest?

The argument against protesters seems largely anchored upon the maxim that all Americans
should "support our troops" during their time of mortal danger and combat. Protesting the
conflict is regarded by many as un-supportive, if not actually counter-productive, because
they feel it expresses (even if tacitly) support for an enemy trying to kill American
soldiers.

This argument begins to break down, however, when it is revealed that it relies upon
significant ambiguities in just what it means to "support our troops." The phrase is used
as if its meaning were obvious, but nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, the
phrase serves as a mask for the serious political and ethical debates which are at the
heart of people's disagreements about the war.

Does "support our troops" mean that we should support the political goals of the government
which has sent them into harm's way? No, and it doesn't mean that we should support
attempts to actually achieve those political goals, either. Americans are not required to
agree with their government, and they aren't required to agree with the attempts by their
government to achieve any and all goals, whether through the use of bureaucrats or the
deployment of soldiers. Such disagreement is not unethical.

Does "support our troops" mean that we should support the use of military might and deadly
force to achieve goals which we otherwise generally approve of? No - Americans are
perfectly justified in disagreeing with the means by which their government attempts to
achieve even valid and moral goals. The American government is, after all, imperfect and
quite capable of errors in policy decisions, and it is not unethical to dissent from
decisions you honestly believe to be mistaken or harmful.

Does "support our troops" mean that we should show gratitude for soldiers who are fighting
and dying for our freedoms? Perhaps, but such a position commits the fallacy of Begging the
Question. After all, the protesters and dissenters might be objecting to the fact that
soldiers are fighting and dying for reasons unrelated to our freedoms. If a person honestly
believes that American soldiers are being used for much less honorable tasks, then this
argument cannot serve to show that they are being ungrateful and thus acting unethically.

So is there any meaning for "support our troops" such that a failure to do so would be
unethical and would make protests unpatriotic? I think so, but it seems to exist only in an
amorphous manner ill-suited to clear explanation. It seems that a person who doesn't care
about the lives and safety of American troops, who perhaps harbors desires that the troops
lose, and who cares not at all for the fears and concerns of friends and family left
behind, is displaying a lack of "support" which is unethical.

American soldiers are, after all, human beings with hopes and dreams of their own. One may
legitimately disagree with the government's goals and/or hate the manner in which it is
using (or abusing) the military, but such opposition should not be transferred to
individual soldiers so long as those soldiers have acted honorably and morally on the field
of battle. The fact that Americans are fighting and dying to achieve unwanted goals is not
a reason to suddenly abandon or hide disagreement; on the contrary, the risks and
privations which the soldiers are suffering may be treated as important or primary reasons
for disagreeing in the first place.

Indeed, it is arguable that a principled and ethical opposition to the conflict must
include support and concern for the troops who are fighting and dying in it. Spitting on
soldiers, turning your back on them, sending hateful messages to their families - these are
all things which have been done at one time or another in the context of past military
conflicts, and all of them represent a lack of support which is unethical.

Clearly there are many ways in which the phrase "support our troops" might be meant. Just
as clearly, however, is the fact that the only meaning which makes sense in the context of
claims that protesters are acting unethically or unpatriotically is the one which does not
necessarily apply to the protesters at all. On the contrary, it is more arguable that those
who are attempting to twist genuine concern and support for the lives of American soldiers
into a tool to stifle legitimate debate and disagreement over the goals for which those
soldiers are fighting are the ones acting unethically and unpatriotically.